On Thanksgiving Eve, the owners of Margarita’s Cantina at 3109 E. Douglas announced that Dec. 31 would be the restaurant’s last day in the space that it had occupied for 33 years.
At the time, there wasn’t much information about what would come next for either the building, which was sold at auction in late October, or for the restaurant, whose owners implied in a news release that they may reopen Margarita’s elsewhere.
Now, though, both sides have shared more information about their plans, including one of the building’s new owners. Brian Suellentrop, who purchased the Margarita’s building with his brother, Paul, said this week that when they put in their bid, the two assumed that the owners of Margarita’s wanted to stay in the building. Margarita’s co-owner Jesse Lee said as much in October, when auction signs went up on the building. At the time, he expressed fear that the signs were leading customers to believe that the restaurant was closing, even though its lease would continue through April.
Once the sale was complete, though, the Suellentrops learned that Lee and his business partner Jon Wood had decided to leave the space after all…